recipe book design

Appetizers

2 ripe tomatoes, Kosher salt, 8 strips bacon, 4 slices Texas toast or other thick sandwich bread, 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese, 3/4 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, 3/4 cup mayon-naise, 5 scallions, finely chopped, 1/4 cup chopped fresh pars-ley, 1/2 small zucchini, very thinly sliced, Freshly ground pepper

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INGREDIENTS:

Tea Smoked ChickenINGREDIENTS:1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns, 1 teaspoon five-spice pow-der, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, 1 pound boneless skinless chick-en thighs, 1/4 cup white rice on Chinese black tea, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Shao-sing wine or medium-dry sherry, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably dark1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

DIRECTIONS:[1] Toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 4 minutes.

[2] Cool slightly, and then crush in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle with the salt and five-spice powder until very fine.

[3] Rub seasoned salt all over the chicken thighs.

[4] Place in a bowl, cover with plas-tic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

[5] Bring the chicken to room tem-perature about 30 minutes before cooking.

[6] Line the bottom of a wok, skillet or heavy pot with a double layer of aluminum foil.

[7] Mix the rice, tea and brown sugar together and mound on the foil.

[8] Set a steamer on top, and even-ly space the chicken on the rack.

[9] Cover and cook over high heat.

[10] Hot smoke the chicken until smokey-brown colored and cooked through, about 12 minutes.

DIRECTIONS:[1] Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

[2] Core the tomatoes and thinly slice.

[3] Place in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let drain for at least 15 minutes.

[4] Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over

medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes.

[5] Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

[6] Pour off and reserve the drippings, leaving 1 table-spoon in the skillet.

[7] Toast the bread on one side in the drippings until golden (do this in batches,

adding more drippings as needed).

[8] Place the bread, toasted-side down, on a baking sheet.

[9] Combine the cheeses with the mayonnaise, scallions and parsley in a bowl.

[10] Spread the cheese mix-ture on the toasts, reserving about 1/3 cup.

Bacon-Tomato Cheese Toasts

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Acorn Squash SoupINGREDIENTS:3 whole acorn squash, approximately 8 cups when cooked, 6 shal-lots, 1 cup diced, 3 left whole and peeled, 6 garlic cloves, peeled, 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon pepper, freshly cracked, plus more for season-ing, 1 stick unsalted butter, in all, 4 cups chicken stock, low-sodium

DIRECTIONS:[1] Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

[2] Cut the squash in half on the equator and remove the seeds with a spoon.

[3] Cut a flat spot on each end so the squash will sit flat.

[4] Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange the squash, cut side up.

[5] To 3 of the squash halves, add a peeled shallot and to the other 3 add 2 garlic cloves on each.

[6] Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with 1 tablespoon each of the salt and freshly cracked pepper.

[7] Roast in the hot oven until very tender and starting to cara-melize and collapse, approximately 1 hour.

[8] Remove from oven and when cool enough to handle, remove the squash from the skin.

[9] Reserve the roast-ed shallots and garlic with the squash. Can be done ahead.

Main Dishes

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DIRECTIONS:

Lots O’Meat LasagnaINGREDIENTS:1 1/2 pounds ground chuck, 1 pound ground Italian sausage, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 2 teaspoons ground oregano, 1 teaspoon ground basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce, 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste, 1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese, 1 (5-ounce) pack-age grated Parmigianno-Reggiano, 2 tablespoons freshly chopped pars-ley leaves, 2 large eggs, lightly beaten, 9 oven-ready lasagna noodles

DIRECTIONS:[1] Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

[2] In a large sauce-pan, combine ground chuck, sausage onion and garlic.

[3] Cook over medium heat until meat is browned and crum-bled.

[4] Drain.[5] Return meat to pan and add oregano, basil, salt and pepper.

[6] Add tomatoes, to-

mato sauce and paste.

[7] Bring to a boil, re-duce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.

[8] In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan, parsley, and eggs.

[9] Spoon 1/4 of sauce into bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan.

[10] Place 3 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce.

Buffalo-Chicken Mac and CheeseINGREDIENTS:7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish, Kosher salt, 1 pound elbow macaroni, 1 small onion, finely chopped, 2 stalks cel-ery, finely chopped, 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 3/4 cup hot sauce (preferably Frank's), 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, 2 1/2 cups half-and-half, 1 pound yellow sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 1/2 cups), 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)

[1] Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

[2] Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.

[3] Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

[4] Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

[5] Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.

[6] Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

[7] Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth.

[8] Whisk in the half-and-half, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes.

[9] Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.

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Parmesan Chicken TendersINGREDIENTS:4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (about 18), 3 large garlic cloves, minced, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, Freshly ground black pepper, 1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan, 3/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs


[2] Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets.

[3] Place the buttermilk in a large bowl.

[4] Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat.

[5] Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 min-utes.

[6] Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl.

[7] Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil.

[8] Season the vinaigrette,

to taste, with pepper.

[9] Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl.

[10] Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish.

[11] Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk.

Desserts

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[2] Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish.

[3] Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.

[4] In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow.

[5] Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.

[6] When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, framboise, if using, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture.

[7] Mix only until com-bined.

[8] With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.

INGREDIENTS:

Chocolate Bread PuddingINGREDIENTS:1 loaf French or Italian bread, cut into cubes (about 15 cups), 3 cups milk, 1/3 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup coffee flavored liqueur, 1 cup sugar,, 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 ta-blespoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons pure almond extract, 1 1/2 tea-spoons ground cinnamon, 6 eggs, lightly beaten, 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, Pecan Rum Flambe Sauce, recipe follows


[2] Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish fill with bread cubes.

[3] In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and liqueur.

[4] In another bowl, combine the

granulated and brown sugars with the cocoa powder and mix well.

[5] Add the cocoa mixture to the milk mixture and whisk to combine.

[6] In a medium bowl, add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and the cinnamon to the beaten eggs.

[7] Combine the egg mixture with the milk mixture and mix well.

[8] Stir in chocolate chips.

[9] Pour the mixture evenly over the bread cubes; let stand, stirring oc-casionally, for at least 20 minutes.

Brownie Pudding1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish, 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature, 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup good cocoa powder, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean, 1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional, Vanilla ice cream, for serving

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Lemon Ricotta CheesecakeINGREDIENTS:1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup granulated sug-ar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 6 tablespoons melted butter, 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature, 1 cup granu-lated sugar, 5 large eggs, 1 lemon, zested, 3/4 pound ricotta cheese, 1 recipe Citrus Thyme Sauce, for serving, recipe follows

DIRECTIONS:[1] Preheat the oven to 375 de-grees F.

[2] In a bowl, mix together the crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon.

[3] Add the butter and mix well.

[4] Using the back of a spoon, press evenly into the bottom and

slightly up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. [5] Bake until golden, about 8 minutes.

[6] Remove from the oven and cool before filling.

[7] In a cake mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the

cream cheese and sugar on low speed until well incorporated, smooth and light, about 2 minutes.

[8] Add the eggs, one at a time, and lemon zest and continue to beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides as nec-essary.